Andre Barnes shared a status. 2 minutes ago Double jeopardy is a procedural defence that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction. In common law countries, a defendant may enter a peremptory plea of autrefois acquit or autrefois convict (autrefois means in the past in French), meaning the defendant has been acquitted or convicted of the same offence.[1] If this issue is raised, evidence will be placed before the court, which will normally rule as a preliminary matter whether the plea is substantiated; if it is, the projected trial will be prevented from proceeding. In some countries, including Canada, Mexico, and the United States, the guarantee against being twice put in jeopardy is a constitutional right. In other countries, the protection is afforded by statute law.[3]
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 04:54:05 +0000